with of all things dust from the sahara desert. hello everyone. this is the fear in chile after a powerful earthquake just off the coast. the authorities have ordered the evacuation of all settlements along its northern coastline because of an ongoing threat of tsunamis. the 8.2 quake was centered 100 kilometers off the coast. iquique is the main port. this is where the epicenter is. iquique is a main port for copper exports. there have been preparations after 400 tremors in the area in recent days. a tsunami of 2.8 meters high. at least six known dead so far with injuries reported. the bbc's emily buchanan has the latest. >> reporter: ten to 9:00 in the evening, last-minute shopping before dinner and then suddenly the terrifying tremors. the ground shook as people ran out of this supermarket. the shelves shaking so violently goods were just thrown onto the floor. here by in the port city of arica, all one woman could do was pray as her house shook. you could hear the sounds of walls and windows breaking before the lights went out. the pitch darkness in this district was broken only by a huge fire. people were desperate to flee the area, but they faced mayhem in the streets. a few had been killed by collapsing walls or from heart attacks. it was very strong and it went on a long time, this woman cried. another said the police have told us to leave. but it was hard to find shelters. the hospitals themselves were being cleared of patients. the government has declared a state of emergency to stop looting. about 300 inmates escaped from a women's prison. chile's president michelle bachelet promised she would continue to work to confront the mrnl and protect people and their families. so far for such a large quake the death toll has been low and fears for a giant tsunami haven't materialized. the scientists says there's danger for even more powerful tremors in the future. >> so what happened in the pacific 100 kilometers west of chile out here? with an earthquake of enormous power, 8.2 in magnitude, it was caused by two tectonic plates, they collide literally down the line of chile's coast, right down to the bottom there. four years ago in february 2010, an earthquake measuring 8.8 hit this area, conception. experiences and learning from that have minimized damage and casualties this time. more than 500 were killed during that earthquake, mostly due to tsunami waves along the chilean coast. like last night's quake, it hit 100 kilometers out to sea at a shallow depth of 20 kilometers. neither was as devastating as what happened in 1960 in ball divya, a magnitude 9.5, it was the most powerful quake ever recorded on that line. more than 1600 people were killed. tsunami waves hit as far away as hawaii and japan. this time chile has shown how well prepared it is. carlina ravino is editor of bbc mundo and is from chile. >> it has been very much under control because of the work that the 400 tremors that hit the country in the last few days, there is alarm for tsunami and earthquake. in a way chile is expecting this. you can never say an earthquake will come, but they were expecting it. >> here we see people on the streets, how prepared, therefore, mentally, have been been for almost the inevitability of this? >> reporter: i think it improved especially since the last earthquake in 2010. >> that's when about 500 people were killed. >> reporter: exactly. it was because of a mistake mainly in the authorities in the alert of the tsunami. most of the people were killed in the tsunami, not in the earthquake. after that, when i go to chile, people speak a lot about earthquakes, speak with children what they have to do, where they have to go. still, of course, when it hits you are scared. people are more conscious now. >> i'm joined by professor david alexander from university college london's institute for risk and disaster reduction. let's pick up on those points, building on what happened in 2010, on the history in chile. how well are they learning from the recent past? >> chile is a pretty well prepared country. it has absorbed the let's sons of the 2010 earthquake. decent evacuation plans and building codes. one very important point, it's one of the least corrupt countries in south america. in fact, on transparency interception corruptions index it comes 22nd of 177 countries. >> we saw a lot of images there from the 2010 earthquake particularly of boats thrown up by the tsunami. how well protected is the coastline now given that a lot of people live down that coastal strip? >> well, it is reasonably well protected inasmuch as there are good evacuation plans. one simple thing they do is the color code lamp posts which indicates where the tsunami zones are and how to get out of there. you move towards a different color and you're in a safer zone. there are more sophisticated plans of all sorts. there are more robust plans. there are plans to relocate critical structures and housing as well. >> when we see, for example, this large -- can we go back to that video, those people coming down the street at that point. it looks as if there's a community spirit. >> well, there is. chile is a little anonymous in that it does have a problem with looting. >> you mean people moving into the buildings -- >> well, people foraging for things they shouldn't be, including electrical items and so on. >> here we are three years on from the fukushima disaster in japan, and again those pictures of 2010 with boats high and dry, but underskying right off the coast is a fault line which could be incredibly damaging and disastrous for chile. >> absolutely. earthquakes -- this has a duration of three minutes which is extremely long. therefore, there's a big problem in chile. it includes landslides. you might get as many as 20,000. >> looking at pictures from inside a pharmaceutical store. is this money well spent by government? >> well, it is. once again, chile is one of the least corrupt places in latin america. corruption is a critical indicator for earthquake preparedness. most corrupt countries have the worst disasters if they're seismic, chile has done well at enforcing building codes and working with international organizations to make sure it has plans. >> professor david alexander from the institute for risk and disaster reduction. thanks for joining me there. we wait for more news from chile as it's first light there. nato's top military commander says the situation on ukraine's eastern border where russian troops are mapped is incredibly concerning. nato foreign ministers have begun meeting for a second day in brussels. they have suspended military cooperation with russia over the annexation of crimea. they have given europe air force general philip breedlove until 15th of april to come up with a plan to reas shew allies. they say europe is facing the gravest threat to its security in a generation. nato is reinforcing already including poland, latvia. we report now from the baltic state. >> reporter: every day they're on alert. this is an exercise. here in lithuania it really matters. the baltic states are increasingly nervous over the behavior of their big neighbor rush. >> i can't say cold war. very hot war, rush yas they concentrate their forces and i think it should be to defend our states. >> reporter: these f 15s can be scrambled within minutes. it's not just about reassuring the baltic states, but about sending a clear message to russ russia. the baltics don't have much of an air force so they remind on nato partners to take turns controlling their skies. normally there are just four warplanes. this month the americans have sent ten and there are offers of more planes, too. >> nato has a great responsibility across its entire spectrum of its aerospace. maintaining sovereign aerospace is very important to any nation. when you're the part of a strongest alliance in the history of the world, our sovereign aerospace is where it begins, air superiority. >> have you had a chance to see any russian planes? >> i can't comment on the operational specifics of the mission. >> reporter: at one of nato's command centers they have seen increasing russian military activity. they can track every aircraft and practically every week they're spotting russian warplanes that appear without warning. >> we've seen a slow increase over the years consistent with russian ambition, if you like. their air force has received more money. we know that. everybody knows that. so we see more activity. >> is that worrying? >> i would say it's not worrying, but we need to be sure we're aware of it. >> this is still a modest military response. nato officials are playing down talk of a new cold war. but out on the eastern front, the alliance's smaller members are looking for assurances and a stronger show of force. >> jonathan beale, bbc news, lithuania. >> within the last few minutes, the supreme allied commander of nato has said russia needs all the forces it needs to achieve a full incursion into ukraine within three to five days. there have been reports of an explosion in the egyptian capital of cairo. official say two roadside bombs went off close to riot police. at least one killed, four injured. the police were stationed outside cairo university ahead of a planned protest of students supporting mohamed morsi. within the past hour the french prime minister unveiled his new government bringing in the former partner of president francois hollande who also ran for president. she'll be the new environment minister in a major shakeup after the governing party suffered heavy losses. in the new cabinet, eight of the 16 ministers are women. so across the table with her former partner and father of her four sons. >> reporter: that's a lot of attention. the two had fallen out big time. there's been a reconciliation, probably linked to the fact that francois hollande left valerie tree whiler. so she comes back into the cabinet in this ecology stroke energy role which is interesting. she's filling a place there which the greens could have had but couldn't have. the greens who were a coalition partner in the government which was there up until two days ago, the greens have worked out, saying they can't work with the new prime minister because he's too right wig. that's left the space for sig lynd role to come in and look at this transition which hole lapped announced towards replacing nuclear and fossil fuels. obviously a long-term project. that is apparently to be a priority. >> can one imagine what relations are going to be like now? after all, the president has had his issues when it comes to women in recent months? >> as i say, they are on the face of it back on terms. evidently they separated amid some acrimony any several years ago. he then had a relationship with valerie tree whiler. as we know, that broke up a couple months ago. that may or may not be linked to the fact that they're back on terms. i don't know if that will be an issue in cabinet. >> thank you very much as the names are announced for the new cabinet in france. let's move on with the business. aaron joins me. not a day to fly across germany unless you're in an airline or aircraft. >> there could be some disruptions across europe. as nik said, bad news for flying if you're booked on lufthansa. the airline's pilots have started the first days of a strike over retirement and pay. 4,000 flights are canceled affecting around 425,000 passengers. needless to say, this is a headache. germany's biggest airline could do without and it will hit them where it hurts, in the pocket as expected. lufthansa stands to lose tens of millions of dollars. the cockpit union calling the strike represents most of lufthansa's near 5,500 pilots. the pilots say the airline's improved offer isn't enough and won't apply to pilots who joined after 2014. we'll have more in particular on gmt in over an hour's time. how about this? the fifth largest economy in the world has expanded faster than expected. i'm talking about russia. russia's gdp, gross domestic product grew by 2% year on year in the fourth quarter. that's the last three months of 2013, all this according to federal statistics service. there's been a rebound in growth because the third quarter we had a growth of 1.3%, continues to grow up. the question is can it be sustained after the crimea crisis which is exacerbating its already troubled economy. we'll keep our eyes on that one. don't forget you can follow me on twitter. lots going on today. amazon could be revealing a new streaming device, video streaming device. tweet me, i'll tweet you back. >> screaming device? >> streaming, not streaming. stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come, afghanistan prepares for the president election this weekend. we're on the campaign trail with two of the many candidates. nature lover... people person. ♪ and you put up with it all... because he also booked you a room... at this place. planet earth's number one accomodation site: booking.com booking.yeah! making moves that would put an adult in the emergency room. yet all they really want to do is grow up. it's funny, everyone i know wishes they could go back and feel younger. sound familiar? then test drive one of these. current non-gm owners and lessees use your $1,500 allowance to lease the 2014 cadillac ats for around $359 a month with nothing due at signing. so ally bank really has no hthat's right, no hidden fees.s? it's just that i'm worried about, you know, "hidden things." ok, why's that? well uhhh... surprise!!! um... well, it's true. at ally there are no hidden fees. not one. that's nice. no hidden fees, no worries. ally bank. your money needs an ally. you're with "bbc world news" with me, nik gowing. i have the latest headlines. the moment a massive earthquake hits chile, at least five people have died, tens of thousands have fled their homes because of tsunami threats. nato foreign ministers meet for a second day to discuss the crew yan crisis. more details on what suspending cooperation with russia will mean. there are reports of an explosion in central kabul on the last day of campaigning ahead of saturday's election. the capital is on high alert as afghans prepare to vote in what may be their most crucial election. it's the presidential race to replace hamid karzai. nine candidates out of initial 11 are campaigning. bbc correspondent lyse doucet reports on two different candidates vying to be president. >> reporter: the crucial election is approaching. afghans are determined to take part even in kandahar, the spiritual home of the taliban who threaten to disrupt the process. but they haven't succeeded. crowds have turned out despite the risk for every candidate who has come here. this time it's a big rally for ash rid ghani afraid sy, former finance minister and world bank official. but in this pes tune stronghold he's emphasizing his tribal credentials. he's pandering peace to an area that's seen some of the worst fighting. but why would the taliban want to talk? >> the national forces are not here in the kind of numbers that made them doubtful that they will ever leave. we have succeeded at the military transition. we have brought about a massive participation of the public in this election. democratic process is gaining ground and working. so the mandate that we will have is a very different mandate. >> reporter: we drive north of kabul to a rally for a candidate who believes the best people to run afghanistan are the men who fought its worse. he's an islamist scholar, one of the most notorious warlords. in the past decade he's been useful to the west. in this election he's even talking about women's rights. >> how is the campaign going? >> reporter: he only moves with his private army. he fought against the taliban in this area. he's still at the top of their hit list. look at the crowds that have gathered here at this rally, the man who symbolizes one of the bloodiest eras in afghanistan history. having guns is in longer enough. his rally brings out the men they call mujahideen, they fought against soviet troops. this isn't a gathering of soldiers. they're devotees. the mujahideen aren't playing a big enough role in government he tells them. it's not enough to just be the army and police. he says men like him are misunderstood. >> we guided our nation in a very bad situation in the days of the war when we were able to rally the nation in that situation, then to guide it, it is ten,000 times easier than that time. >> reporter: in kabul's morning rush hour, these police stand guard, just to salute official vehicles as they go by. behind them in the shadows are the unemployed. they look for vehicles offering work. where there's less work, less investment, less aid as foreign troops pull out. no matter what kind of leader emerges, they'll face the toughest of tasks. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. if you spent any time in the uk in the last couple days, this is what you've seen and experienced. a lot of dust and smog in the air because of an exceptionally high level of air pollution. jenny hill has more. >> reporter: this is looeds where in recent days, air pollution has far exceeded levels considered safe by the eu. it's all down to the weather. dust has blown in from the sahara, industrial pollution from europe to mix with existing local emissions. there's now no wind to blow them away and high pressure acts like a lit to trap the pollutants. >> what we're seeing in terms of air quality is relatively unusual. it's a combination of several factors, none of which in themselves is particularly unusual. it's the combination of four individual factors, some to do with chemistry, some emissions and air quality have all combined. >> air pollution can exacerbate existing lung disease, particularly asthmatics and those with chronic lung disease known as copd, they can often experience exacerbations of their symptoms with seasonal changes. >> reporter: high or very high levels of pollution are expected to affect england and wales today. forecasters say it should ever way by the end of the week. jenny hill, bbc news, looeds. the main news is chile is waking up to the impact by daybreak of what happened there off the coast of chile, about 100 kilometers offshore when an 8.2 earthquake hit. you can see inside a pharmaceutical store scott: feeding your lawn need not be so difficult. get a load of this bad boy. man: sweet! scott: this snap spreader system from scotts makes caring for your lawn snapcrackin' simple, guaranteed. just take the handy, no-mess bag, then snap, lock and go. to see a demo of the snap spreader, go to scotts.com. feed your lawn. feed it! anncr: visit scotts.com/goyard for the chance to win a $25,000 backyard makeover. wanted to go and see a lion up close. this zoom lens is amazing. go and smell the roses! but i didn't always watch out for myself. with so much noise about health care, i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters... my individual health profile, not random statistics. they even reward me for addressing my health risks. so i'm doing fine... but she's still gonna give me a heart attack. pharmaceutical store pharmaceutie innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. 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with an earthquake of enormous power, 8.2 in magnitude, it was caused by two tectonic plates, they collide literally down the line of chile's coast, right down to the bottom there. four years ago in february 2010, an earthquake measuring 8.8 hit this area, concepcion. experiences and learning from that have minimized damage and casualties this time. more than 500 were killed during that earthquake, mostly due to tsunami waves along the chilean coast. you can see a boat there up on the shore. like last night's quake, it hit 100 kilometers out to sea at a shallow depth of 20 kilometers. neither was as devastating as what happened in 1960 in valdivia, a magnitude 9.5, it was the most powerful quake ever recorded on that line. more than 1600 people were killed. tsunami waves hit as far away as hawaii and japan. professor david alexander from the university college london's institute for risk and disaster reduction joined me, and i asked him how much chile has learned particularly from the lessons of the past. >> chile is a pretty well prepared country. it has absorbed the let's sons of the 2010 earthquake. decent evacuation plans and building codes. one very important point, it's one of the least corrupt countries in south america. in fact, on transparency interception corruptions index it comes 22nd of 177 countries. >> we saw a lot of images there from the 2010 earthquake particularly of boats thrown up by the tsunami. how well protected is the coastline now given that a lot of people live down that coastal strip? >> well, it is reasonably well protected inasmuch as there are good evacuation plans. one simple thing they do is the color code lamp posts which indicates where the tsunami zones are and how to get out of there. you move towards a different color and you're in a safer zone. there are more sophisticated plans of all sorts. there are more robust building plans. there are plans to relocate critical structures and housing as well. >> when we see, for example, this large -- can we go back to that video, those people coming down the street at that point. it looks as if there's a community spirit. >> well, there is. chile is a little anonymous in that it does have a problem with looting. >> you mean people moving into the buildings after people leave them? >> well, people foraging for things they shouldn't be, including electrical items and so on. >> here we are three years on from the fukushima disaster in japan, and again those pictures of 2010 with boats high and dry, but underscoring right off the coast is a fault line which could be incredibly damaging and disastrous for chile. >> absolutely. earthquakes -- this has a duration of three minutes which is extremely long. therefore, there's a big problem in chile. it includes landslides. you might get as many as 20,000. >> looking at pictures from inside a pharmaceutical store. is this money well spent by government? >> well, it is. once again, chile is one of the least corrupt places in latin america. corruption is a critical indicator for earthquake preparedness. most corrupt countries have the worst earthquake disasters if they're seismic, chile has done well at enforcing building codes and working with international organizations to make sure it has plans. nato's top military commander says the situation on ukraine's eastern border where russian troops are en massed is incredibly concerning. nato foreign ministers have begun meeting for a second day in brussels. they have suspended military cooperation with russia over the annexation of crimea. they have given a senior nato commander until april 15th to reassure nato allies. a police brigadier general has been killed and four other officers injured in two blasts in central cairo. officials say the roadside bombs exploded seconds apart. they targeted riot police outside the engineering faculty at cairo university. let's go to bbc's ola guerin. >> reporter: we understand these are explosions that took place outside the main gates of cairo university. the campus has been a battleground in recent months with regular protests taking place by supporters of the band muslim brotherhood with regular police action to shut down those protests. we do know it's very clear that police were the targets today. the senior officer killed is a brigadier in a local investigations unit. we understand that between four and five other police officers were killed, possibly -- were injured i should say, four to five injured including another senior officer. it is the latest on a string of attacks on the security forces here in egypt and more than 400 police and troops have been killed in recent months, those attacks being carried out by islamist militants since the ousting of mohamed morsi last year by the security forces. >> orla, do you think from this kind of event not just in cairo but elsewhere, that there's very clear, precise targeting of high value security targets like this? >> we've certainly seen attempts being made on high value targets. we did have an attempt on the life of the interior minister last year that was unsuccessful. we have seen other senior police officials being killed. we have seen very sensitive police targets being hit. for example, we had a blast in january which killed four people outside the headquarters of police in cairo. we had a large bomb back in december outside another security building, another building in man sewer, egypt's third largest city. it's clear the islamist militants are going after what should be, i should say, very secure targets, very sensitive areas. they are trying to deliver a message to the heart of the security establishment that they, too, are vulnerable. we have seen militants being annual to carry out a string of attacks in different locations, expanding their campaign beyond the rest of sinai peninsula where they have a strong presence. certainly they're managing to make their mark with these attacks. >> orla guerin, thanks for the latest from cairo. to france where the prime minister unveiled his new government bringing in seg lean royal, the former partner of francois hollande who also ran for president. she'll be the new environment minister in the major shakeup after the socialist party suffered heavy losses in the elections over the weekend. in the new small cabinet eight of the 16 ministers will be women. i put to bbc's hugh schofield in paris that it's remarkable segolene will be joining the cabinet of her former partner and father of her children. >> reporter: the two had fallen out big time. there's been reconciliation probably due to the fact that he's left valerie trierweiler. so she comes back in this cabinet this ecology/energy role. she's filling a place there which the greens could have had but aren't going to have. the greens who were a coalition partner in the government which was there up until two days ago, the greens have worked out, saying they can't work with the new prime minister because he's too right wing. segolene royal to come in and look at this transition which hole lapped announced towards replacing nuclear and fossil fuels. obviously a long-term project. that is apparently to be a priority. >> can one imagine what relations are going to be like now? after all, the president has had his issues when it comes to women in recent months. >> as i say, they are on the face of it back on terms. evidently they separated amid some acrimony any several years ago. he then had a relationship with valerie trierweiler. as we know, that broke up a couple months ago. that may or may not be linked to the fact that they're back on terms. i don't know if that will be an issue in cabinet. from france to germany, a bad day for flying if you're booked on luff stan is a. the airline pilots started the first of three days of strikes over pay and an early retirement deal. it's expected nearly 4,000 flights will be canceled affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. steve evans joins me from berlin. what is that picture, then? how many lufthansa flights, if any, are flying. >> 10% are flying, 900 canceled. the strike is pretty solid. we're expecting cancellations right through into saturday when there is no strike day, but because aircraft will be out of place. it's a pretty solid strike. not chaos in the airports, though, because there was a pretty vigorous campaign of text messaging, passengers saying don't show up at the airports because the flight won't be going. people are either taking trains or cars or staying at home and rebooking which, of course, will cost lufthansa probably tens of millions of euros. >> steve, we've seen pictures of all the pilots and copilots standing in their smart uniforms outside frankfurt airport. a three-day strike. why so long? >> the way a german strikes is a lot of negotiation and then people decide -- the union decides we're not getting anywhere here, so short and sharp. you're absolutely right, three days is unusual. these negotiations have been going on for more than a year and you get a sense of exasperation probably from both sides. it's the union saying we're serious about this. both sides are now saying we need to talk. but that's what unions and that's what managements say when they go on strike. maybe three days will sharpen the whole thing up and bring a swifter conclusion. >> only 10% of lufthansa flights flying today. thanks, steve, for joining us from berlin. stay with us here with me, nik gowing. more to come, afghanistan prepares for the president election. we're on the campaign trail with two of the many candidates. who are you? who are you? wrong answer. wait, daddy, this is blair, he booked this room with priceline express deals and saved a ton. yeah, i didn't have to bid and i got everything i wanted. oh good. i always do. oh good. he seemed nice. express deals. priceline savings without the bidding. love drama? 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[ back-up beeping, honking ] a truckload of discounts for your business -- now, that's progressive. you're with "bbc world news" with me, nik gowing. i have the latest headlines for you. the moment a massive earthquake hits chile. at least six people have died, tens of thousands fled their homes because of tsunami threats. two blasts in central cairo. state television say the police brigadier general has been killed with four other police officers injured. malaysia's head of police has said he rules out all passengers as suspects in the disappearance of flight mh370 more than three weeks ago. khalid aboul backer said none of the 227 passengers on the missing plane was involved in the hijacking, sabotage or had personal or psychological problems. mr. khalid said they have yet to find a motive. the focus of the criminal investigation is still on the crew, especially the two pilots. meanwhile off western australia ten planes an nine boats are searching for the missing plane. they have been joined by a british submarine. the bbc's jonah fisher joined me from the harborside in free mantle, the port of perth. i asked him about the fact that even the australians say they don't really know where they're looking. >> reporter: they still don't know if they're looking in the right place. they still have no idea why the plane diverted off course. remarkable when you consider it's been 26 days since mh370 disappeared despite this huge multinational effort, both in terms of the investigation team based out of kuala lumpur and based out of here in perth, this big coalition of both planes and ships that are scouring this area off the australian coast. still they've got no firm evidence and they are indeed looking in the right place. no debris has been found. the fact we're hearing about new ships, submarines being sent to that area, that's a sign of how desperate they are. the fact that they really need a break through in the next few days before the black box recorder most likely goes silent. >> jonah, by my reckoning and you're on the harborside there in free mantle, the ping locater should be on station in the next 24 hours or so, that little device which is being towed behind an australian naval ship. >> reporter: yes. but, nik, the point with that locater is it's only going to be useful if they have some idea where mh370 crashed into the water. it's only got a range of about one or two kilometers each side of it. so it can't be used to troll through a large area. they need to have narrowed down a possible crash site. that's why it's really up to the planes and the ships and possibly now the submarines as well to try to find some sort of indication that they're in the right place, then track back where the crash site might have been based on what we know about the currents in that area. and then these ping locaters can get to work. the chances of them finding it out of the blue with the ping locater are very, very remote. >> jonah fisher there in perth. spanish champions barcelona in football have been given a year-long transfer ban by fifa. the punishment is for breaching rules relating to the international transfer of players under the age of 18. the ban will affect the next two transfer windows. other news, a report in "the washington post" claims the cia repeatedly misled the u.s. government over the severity and effectiveness of its harsh interrogation methods. the post says a long-awaited secret report by the senate intelligence committee shows the cia's program yielded little information. united nations refugee agency says it's trying to relocate 19,000 muslims under threat by christian militias. a spokesperson says the only thing keeping them from being killed by fighter is a handful of french and african peacekeeping troops. the united states is threatening to stop imports from glasgow smithkline. farm suit curveball waste contaminated a key ingredient for antidepressants. there's been no risk to human health. but it is recalling some batches. to afghanistan where afghans have the chance to vote on saturday in what may be their most crucial election. it's the presidential race to replace hamid karzai. the taliban have threatened acts of violence and in the past few minutes there's been a suicide bomb attack outside the interior ministry compound in the capital of kabul. despite the security challenges, large numbers have of gans have been turning out at election rallies. bbc's chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports now on two different candidates vying to be president. >> reporter: the crucial election is approaching. afghans are determined to take part even in kandahar, the spiritual home of the taliban who threaten to disrupt the process. but they haven't succeeded. crowds have turned out despite the risk for every candidate who has come here. this time it's a big rally for ashraf ghani, former finance minister and world bank official. but in this person tune stronghold, he's emphasizing his tribal credentials. he's pandering peace to an area that's seen some of the worst fighting. but why would the taliban want to talk? >> the reason they've talked to us is the context is different. the narm forces are not here in the kind of numbers that made them doubtful that they will ever leave. we have succeeded at the military transition. we have brought about a massive participation of the public in this election. democratic process is gaining ground and working. so the mandate that we will have is a very different mandate. >> reporter: we drive north of kabul to a rally for a candidate who believes the best people to run afghanistan are the men who fought its wars. abdul sayaf is an islamist scholar, one of the most notorious warlords. in the past decade he's been useful to the west. in this election he's even talking about women's rights. >> how is the campaign going? >> reporter: he only moves with his private army. he fought against the taliban in this area. he's still at the top of their hit list. look at the crowds that have gathered here at this rally, the man who symbolizes one of the bloodiest eras in afghanistan history. the number of guns held still matters here in afghanistan. this kind of rally emphasizes that -- his rally brings out the men they call mujahideen, they fought against soviet troops. this isn't a gathering of soldiers. they're devotees. the mujahideen aren't playing a big enough role in government he tells them. it's not enough to just be the army and police. he says men like him are misunderstood. >> we guided our nation in a very bad situation in the days of the war when we were able to rally the nation in that situation, then to guide it, it this situation, it is 10,000 times easier than that time. >> reporter: in kabul's morning rush hour, these police stand guard, just to salute official vehicles as they go by. behind them in the shadows are the unemployed. they look for vehicles offering work. there's less work, less investment, less aid as foreign troops pull out. no matter what kind of leader emerges, they'll face the toughest of tasks. lyse doucet, bbc news, kabul. >> officially within the last few minutes it's been reported a suicide bomber wearing a military uniform detonated explosives at the main gate of the interior ministry in kabul. we'll be broadcasting reports of other candidates and issues here on "bbc world news." there will be extended coverage of voting on saturday. the earthquake which stroke off the coast of chile, leaving six days, seriously wounding several others. this is where the quake hit a pharmaceutical store. you can see people moving for the exit. it rumbled for about two minutes. it hit the northern part of the country with the biggest wave reported from a tsunami at 2.3 meters. tens of thousands of people have fled their homes and roads out of iquique, the city closest to the epicenter which is the center of the copper mining industry. they're worried about 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[prof. burke] at farmers,we make you smarter [bell rings] about your insurance,because what you don't know can hurt you. what if you didn't know that taking pictures of your belongings helps when you have a claim? or that farmers offers a policy that will replace your car with a new one if it's totaled within the first two model years. and that parking near a street lamp deters thieves? the more you know,the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪ [announcer] call 1-800-470-8502 and see how much you could save. hello, you're watching gmt on "bbc world news." i'm lucy hockings. widespread panic and mass evacuations in chile after a powerful earthquake triggers a small tsunami. this is moments after the quake struck killing six people and shaking buildings as far away as bolivia and peru. the final day of campaigning in afghanistan. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is ther